


A Former Companion

by EnterUserNameHere



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 05:50:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnterUserNameHere/pseuds/EnterUserNameHere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico traveled with the Doctor for two years before the Titan War got to be too much. When Percy went missing he thought that maybe he could get a lead. The Doctor was too hard to find, Sarah Jane on the other hand was always willing to help whenever Nico showed up in her doorstep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Nico stood outside the door of 13 Bannerman Road in Ealing, London. It was a suburb, but what was thought of as the “city proper” wasn't that far. Rani, Clyde, and Luke had dragged Nico along a few times they biked there when they got bored.  
Nico shook his head, reminding himself why he was here. This wasn’t an ordinary visit where he could have cookies and go shopping with his friends. Percy was missing. Sarah Jane could know something. After all they hadn’t had much luck looking for him in America. Even if Sarah Jane didn’t know anything she could contact the Doctor and have him help look.  
He lifted his hand to knock when he heard a baby start crying. He blinked when he noticed the lights flickering through the windows. Well, that’s… different. He thought. He knocked quickly and called “Sarah Jane?” The crying and flickering lights stopped.  
A second later the door swung open. Sarah Jane Smith was standing in the doorway smiling at him. She was in her forties with shoulder-length brown hair and warm brown eyes. She didn’t really have any gray hair but she did have a mix of worry and laughter lines on her face. Still, with her bright smiles and incredible energy, Nico just couldn’t think of her as old. She was still a beautiful woman. The wrinkles just showed that she was living a fantastic life. Sarah Jane was just one of those people who was permanent. She never seemed to age, she was just there. Nico could barely remember his own mother, but he hoped she’d have been like Sarah Jane.  
“Nico!” She cried. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. He wasn’t really big on physical contact but returned the hug anyway, Sarah Jane he could make an exception for. She let go but kept one hand on his shoulder. The other brushed his hair out of his face. “Why haven’t you been visiting more often? I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”  
“Sorry, I’ve been kind of busy. Did I hear a baby crying a second ago?”  
“Yes.” She sighed. “Come in I’ll let you meet, uh, Sky.”  
Nico frowned and stepped inside. As he followed Sarah Jane to the kitchen he asked, “How’s Luke doing?” Luke was Sarah Jane’s son. Last time Nico had visited Luke had been packing up to go to Oxford.  
“Oh he’s fine. He doesn’t call as much as I’d like but he’ll be coming home for a small break between winter and spring semester.” She responded with a smile. She paused just outside the kitchen and added, “He misses you.”  
Nico sighed quietly. Sarah Jane had kind of adopted him when he’d stopped travelling with the Doctor. (Naturally when the Doctor had taken him home he’d “accidentally” dropped him outside Sarah Jane’s house instead.) As a result, Luke had come to think of Nico as a little brother. Honestly, he liked that, and he’d missed Luke too.  
They walked into the kitchen to find Clyde Langer sitting at the table with a baby in his arms. Clyde was a 17 year old, black, English boy. His head was shaved so you could only see the black stubble of his hair. He didn’t look all that muscular but was in shape. That was most likely due to all the running that came hand in hand with being friends with Sarah Jane. He had a pretty good sense of humor. Most of the time. And, judging by the smiling child in his arms, he was good with kids.  
“Well, I haven’t seen you around for a while.” Clyde announced grinning. “Sarah Jane could you take her so I can smack Nico for that?”  
Sarah Jane laughed, “So long as you don’t mean that literally.” She held her arms out for the baby.  
Nico braced himself as Clyde tackled him in a hug. Why did he have to get hugged so much whenever he came here?  
“How are you Nico? Last I heard there was some big fight thing you had to do.” Clyde said.  
“Well, we won.” Nico answered sheepishly. He scratched the back of his neck.  
“Really? I never would have guessed.” Clyde’s voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.  
Nico coughed. “Where’s Rani? And what’s with the kid?”  
“Rani’s with her parents. They said they had something important to talk to her about. As for Sky here, well she just showed up on my doorstep this morning.” Sarah Jane answered.  
“And you didn’t call for Social Services or anything?” Nico asked.  
“We can’t. Did you see the lights from outside?”  
“Yeah, I was wondering about that.”  
“It happens every time she cries. We asked Mr. Smith about it but quite frankly he’s scared of her. If she cries around him who knows what will happen.”  
Mr. Smith was Sarah Jane’s super computer. He was part of an alien race called Zylocs. They looked like crystals in their natural forms and were very old. Mr. Smith knew just about everything and had told Sarah Jane how to create and install the software he was currently housed in. He helped her track alien activity on Earth and assisted her in whatever way she needed once she’d decided what to do about what was found.  
“Right so she’s clearly not a normal kid.” Nico said. Then a thought occurred to him. Electricity. Sky was in essence manipulating electricity. Now, who else did he know that could do that? “She’s not a child of Zeus, right? Mr. Smith would have been able to tell.”  
“Oh no.” Sarah Jane assured him. She handed Sky back to Clyde. “We’re not totally sure what she is, but I had Mr. Smith check for that. She’s an alien, not a demigod.”  
“Oh good.” Nico sighed in relief.  
The front door opened and Rani came into the room a moment later. “Nico, what’re you doing here?”  
“Nice to see you too Rani.” He answered rolling his eyes.  
“Sorry. I was just surprised is all.” She stepped forward and, of course, hugged him.  
Rani, like Clyde, was 17. She was a pretty girl of Indian descent with black hair that went to the end of her shoulder blades. She had a longish nose, dark eyes, and a wide smile. She was about the same height as Clyde and a tiny bit taller than Sarah Jane.  
“Rani does have a point though.” Clyde said. “You don’t seem like you’re just here for an ordinary visit.”  
“What gave me away?” He asked, pouting a little.  
“You’ve been more fidgety than usual. And you keep looking around like you’re waiting for an excuse to bolt or something.”  
“So what’s up?” Rani smiled and hip checked him playfully.  
“I’ve been looking for someone. He went missing a few days ago and no one’s had any leads.” Nico told them. “I was hoping that maybe…” He trailed off.  
“Come on.” Sarah Jane grabbed his hand. “Let’s go see if Mr. Smith can find anything.”


	2. Chapter Two

Nico and Clyde followed Sarah Jane upstairs to the attic. Rani was staying downstairs with Sky. Clyde had been with her for most of the day and Mr. Smith was most helpful when Sarah Jane was there. 

Once they reached the attic Sarah Jane stepped into the middle of the room and announced, “Mr. Smith, I need you.” 

A fanfare started playing as the bottom half of what looked like a chimney cut in half and swung out. The top half slid up to reveal Mr. Smith. The top half was the monitor with a shifting image of a crystal on it. Colors shifted in the background. The bottom half was in three sections. It was shaped in an arc and covered in buttons, switches, and levers. Some parts would slide out so someone could have things scanned and analyzed. 

“How can I help you Sarah Jane?” A male voice emanated from the computer. 

“We need you to help us find someone.” She motioned for Nico to come forward. 

“Um, his name’s Percy Jackson.” Nico started. He’d talked to Mr. Smith before but not very often. He usually just stood off to the side and let one of the others do it. 

“Description, please.” Mr. Smith pressed. 

“Black hair, green eyes. Uh, 16 years old, about 6 feet or so tall. Is that enough or should I keep going?” 

“Do you have a picture or something important to him?” 

“Why would you need something important to him?” 

Sarah Jane answered that one. “Sometimes if someone has something of great sentimental value it leaves a sort of psychic trace of the person it belongs to. Mr. Smith can pick it up and track it.” 

“I don’t have anything like that.” Nico sighed. “And I didn’t think to bring a picture. Idiot.” The last part is whispered to himself. 

“What have I told you about saying things like that about yourself?” Sarah Jane said sternly. 

“Only do it when you can’t hear?” 

Sarah Jane took a breath; clearly about to launch into a lecture about how you shouldn’t insult yourself, self esteem is important, etc., when Clyde stepped in. 

“So Mr. Smith, can you help us out?” 

“Where was he last seen?” 

“Long Island, New York.” Nico answered. He shot Clyde a grateful look for changing the subject. 

“I will see what I can do.” 

\-----------line break---------- 

Nico sighed as he slid into a chair at the kitchen table. Sarah Jane was making something for him to eat, despite his protests that it was unnecessary. Rani smirked and shoved Sky into his arms. 

“Your turn!” She sang. She grabbed Clyde’s arm and fled the room. 

Nico frowned down at the baby. She smiled up at him. 

“Wait just a minute and I can take her back.” Sarah Jane said. 

“Don’t bother. I might as well help out a bit while I’m here right?” Nico looked up at her. “It’s been an hour. Can you check to see if Mr. Smith found anything yet?” 

She ruffled his hair a bit. “Of course.” 

“Okay, what should I do with you?” He mused. “I don’t generally hang around kids. I don’t suppose you have an opinion? Great I’m talking to someone who doesn’t understand English yet. Nice move Nico.” 

Sky laughed. 

“Oh you think that’s funny?” Nico smiled. “Is your sense of humor gonna be as bad as Clyde’s? I guess I’ll have to show up more often to stop that from happening, huh? This conversation seems very one sided. You clearly need to learn to talk soon so I don’t look like a crazy person.” He laughed quietly at himself. 

Sarah Jane came back into the room, frowning a little. “I’m sorry Nico but Mr. Smith can’t find a trace of him.” 

“That’s okay.” Nico sighed. “It was worth a shot right? I don’t suppose you could call…” He trailed off. 

“No, there isn’t a reliable way of getting a hold of him. He’ll show up when he wants to.” 

“Yeah. Thanks for the help, Sarah Jane.” He stood. “Tell Clyde and Rani I said good bye okay?” 

“Can’t you stay for a bit? It’s been so long.” 

Nico handed her the baby. “I'll come by again soon, I promise. I have to keep looking for Percy though.” 

“Just a moment. Stay right here.” She pushed Sky into his arms again and walked to one of the cupboards. 

“Good luck with her.” Nico whispered to Sky. 

“I heard that.” Sarah Jane called. 

Nico laughed again. “It would have been wasted otherwise.” 

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes and traded him, the baby for a box of cookies. 

“Be careful and come back soon.” 

“I will.” He gave her a quick half hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Bye.” 

“Goodbye Nico.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Computer problems suck. Anyway, here's chapter three. Chapter four should be up by the end of next week at the latest. Also, I'm typing this on a different thing so 'these are thoughts' and "this is speech." In case you couldn't figure it out.

The next time Nico showed up at Sarah Jane's door was a month later. He'd meant to go back sooner, but he'd gotten pretty caught up in looking for Percy. Not to mention how hard it was to keep track of time in the Underworld. Plus, he'd had to keep checking in with Hazel at Camp Jupiter. Everyone was sure he'd show up there sooner or later. After all two months after Jason disappeared from Camp Jupiter he'd gotten to Camp Half Blood. They couldn't expect him to show up immediately. 

Sarah Jane would be furious with him. She didn't like excuses very much. Especially when they sounded like you were using them to get out of something. Still, maybe she'd had a lot of aliens to deal with, so she hadn't noticed how long he'd been gone.

'Yeah right, Nico. Just knock and get it over with.' He sighed and knocked.

A girl opened the door. She looked about twelve or so, with medium brown hair and brown eyes. She smiled at him. She was pretty cute. In a little sister kind of way.

"Laughing Boy!" She shouted and launched herself at him.

"Wait, what? Who are you?" He demanded, pushing her off.

"It's me silly, Sky."

"No, Sky was a baby. You can't turn twelve in a month. Why did you call me Laughing Boy?" He frowned, "Sarah Jane still lives here, right?"

"Of course she does. Come on, she could probably explain better anyway." She pulled him into the house, "Mum! Laughing Boy's here."

"Seriously, it's Nico, not Laughing Boy. Now tell me why you keep saying that and please, never do it again."

They got into the living room a second before Sarah Jane did. "Nico, I thought you might be who she was talking about, but I wasn't quite sure."

"Just tell me why she does it." He groaned.

"Because I didn't know your name, but last time I saw you, you laughed. It was a nice laugh. I liked it a lot." Sky answered. She quickly turned to Sarah Jane, "Mum, it's cold out, can I make hot chocolate for me and Nico?"

Nico blinked at the sudden topic change.

"Of course. Do you remember how to make it yourself?" Sky nodded, "Go on then."

Once Sky had run off, Nico turned and looked at Sarah Jane, totally lost.

"I suppose I should explain." He nodded, "After I tell you I expect a very good reason why you didn't show up for Christmas."

Nico winced. "I'm really sorry, Sarah Jane."

She smiled a little. "Right, I'll just jump right in. Sky was created by a species called the Fleshkind. She was meant to be a bomb to kill another species called the Metalkind. They had been at war with each other for years. You remember last time you were here, how the lights flickered when she cried? They also did it when she laughed, but you weren't here for that discovery." 

Nico smiled rather sheepishly and nodded.

"She was suppose to automatically send out an electromagnetic pulse, which was deadly to the Metalkind, once she was put near the majority of their race. Since a baby can't fight in a war, after 24 hours she transformed into a twelve year old."

Nico frowned, thoughtful. "Wouldn't the pulse kill the Fleshkind too?"

"Some of them. Mostly soldiers, they insisted that their civilian population was far enough away. It definitely would have killed Sky, along with an entire species."

"I'm gonna assume you took care of it."

"Of course, you know how I feel about genocide."

"And Sky? Is she still..."

Sky came back into the room at this point. "Mum, fixed me so I'm not a weapon anymore. Then she adopted me! I've got a brother now, can you believe it? I haven't met him yet, but Mum says he's brilliant. And he's Clyde and Rani's best friend. I like Clyde and Rani, so he must be fun." She handed Nico his hot chocolate with a huge smile.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, "How many more strays were you planning to take in Sarah Jane? Anymore and you'll have to get a bigger house."

"I'll do it as many times as I need to. Now, it's your turn. What have you been up to? Did you find that friend of yours?"

Nico sighed, "No, we got a lead though."

"Really? Go on, tell me everything." Sarah Jane grinned. Sky was leaning forward in her seat.

"Remember the two camps I told you about?"

"You said you're friend went missing from Camp Half Blood, right?"

He nodded, "Three months ago, a boy named Jason Grace went missing from Camp Jupiter."

Sarah Jane scowled at him, "Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

"The Romans didn't want me looking for him. They insisted they could handle it. Anyway, Jason showed up with two other demigods at Camp Half Blood three days after Percy went missing."

"So you think Percy's at Camp Jupiter." Sarah Jane concluded.

"That's the thing, I went to Camp Jupiter after I found out about Jason. Percy wasn't there. Hazel said the only new kid was a guy named Frank."

"Who's Hazel?" Sky asked.

"My sister."

"Oh."

"Did you tell the Romans where Jason is?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Of course not! I'm not gonna screw up whatever plan Hera thinks she's working. Besides, they'll find out soon enough. Until then, I'll just visit my sister more often."

"Hera?" Sky frowned.

"Something else happened, didn't it?" Sarah Jane rubbed her temples, "Tell me quickly, all this is starting to give me a headache."

Nico told them about Leo and Piper. They way they'd gone with Jason to free Hera from a prison to keep the world from ending. He skipped over most of the details of the quest. For times sake, he wasn't scared of Sarah Jane's reaction to normal quest hazards. Not at all. He did however tell them about Porphyrion rising and deciding to go kill the gods in Greece. He doubted he could get away with skipping that part. Which meant he had to tell them about the new prophecy.

"So, it was Hera's fault your friend was taken and now you have no choice but to sit around and wait for him to show up." Sarah Jane summed up.

"That's about the size of it, yeah." Nico replied. "I can't really stay long. I'm supposed to help my dad. Death's going a little crazy right now. Apparently, Thantos decided that now was the perfect time for a vacation. We haven't been able to find him for a few months."

"Anything we can do to help?" Sarah Jane looked concerned.

"Not really. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Can't you at least stay for dinner? I mean honestly, when was the last time you ate?"

"Ummm... Two days ago? No wait three. Three days ago. I think. Dad'll let me get something. Probably." He cringed. There was no way she'd let him leave in the next couple hours. He was sure of it.

"Oh no you don't." Sarah Jane snapped, "You will stay for dinner. When did you sleep last? No, no! Never mind, I can guess. You'll stay in the spare bedroom tonight. You can leave AFTER BREAKFAST tomorrow."

"But-" Nico started.

"No buts! I refuse to let you run off until you've had two meals and a decent night's sleep and that is final!" She walked off into the kitchen muttering about ridiculous fathers who couldn't care for their sons properly.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Sky said brightly, "You can pick. Also, I feel bad for your dad. When Mum meets him, god or not, he'll probably get slapped.

Nico laughed at that mental image and helped Sky pick something to watch.


	4. Chapter Four

Nico had been careful to visit Sarah Jane at least twice a month. Somehow, he always managed to miss seeing Luke. Stupid Fates.

He'd also done everything he could to make sure Sarah Jane didn't have a reason to chew him out again. It had been six months since the last time and he was rather pleased with himself. For that anyway.

Nico stared at the door for a minute or two. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't bother Sarah Jane with his own self loathing. Of course, he knew she'd be irritated with him if he didn't. No way to win then. Why couldn't he do anything right? Tears stung his eyes. He was determined to keep them from falling. Not out here. If he was going to fall apart it might as well be inside, where no one but his family could see.

He knocked and, like always, the door swung open a couple seconds later. He broke when he saw the person holding it there.

Tall, around 6'1" or so. Medium brown hair and brown eyes with the same life and warmth as his mother's. Pale, but healthy, unlike Nico, and the same lean body type as Clyde.

"Luke." Nico whispered. A couple tears slipped out, against his will. "Can I come in?"

Luke pulled him inside without a word and closed the door behind him. When he turned back to Nico he had already gone into his overprotective big brother mode.

"What happened? Don't worry about filling me in anymore than you'd have to for Mum, she told me what's been going on. Who made you cry? Did something happen to your sister? Or that friend of yours? Tell me, please. I can't do anything to fix it if you don't tell me."

Nico let out a small laugh, which turned into a sort of choked, half-sob. He held his arms out and looked up at Luke, silently pleading for a hug. Luke granted hid request by stepping forward and immediately enfolding him into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay. You're home now. I've got you little brother, I won't let anything happen to you." Luke rubbed Nico's back as he whispered. He started rocking them back and forth a little, Nico clung to Luke as he cried, accidentally soaking the older boy's shirt.

He was a little embarrassed, but this was Luke. He and Sarah Jane were his family. Even Sky seemed as much a little sister to him as Hazel was. Of course he couldn't break down like this in front of either of them. Bianca had shown him that it was the responsibility of the older sibling to care for the younger ones. And that's what he planned to do. Even if it killed him. Not to say he wouldn't die for Luke, or do anything he could to help him. Still, Sky and Hazel were his baby sisters. He had to protect them. That's what Bianca had done for him, after all. It had taken him a while to realize everything she'd given up for him. He understood now.

Luke was his big brother and Sarah Jane was his mom. He didn't have to worry about being strong for them.

"Luke? Mum wants to know-" Sky's voice cut off suddenly. Nico hid his face in Luke's shirt and held on to him a little tighter. Sky ran off again calling, "Mum!!"

"I'm sorry." Nico choked out, "I-I'm so s-sorry. I'm too m-much t-trouble. I sh-shouldn't be h-here."

"Hey. You're not trouble. And you should definitely be here. This is your home and we are your family, aren't we?" Nico nodded a little. "Good. Don't say stuff like that, it upsets Mum." Luke rested his chin on Nico's shoulder.

Nico managed a small strangled laugh. He felt Luke kiss the top of his head.

"Nico?" Sarah Jane's voice was full of concern. "Oh Nico, sweetheart. What is it?"

"He won't tell me. Maybe you'll have better luck." Luke sighed.

Sarah Jane pulled Nico gently toward her. He turned so he was clinging to her the same way he'd clung to Luke. "Why don't you go make some tea? And Sky, could you get the cookies we made earlier?"

"Yes, Mum." Luke answered. He headed to the kitchen.

Sky hugged him as best she could. "Please don't cry, Nico. You look so much nicer when you're smiling."

He looked down at her. His mind started yelling at him. 'Little sister, be strong, must protect.' He tried to smile for her, it looked watery and clearly forced. He couldn't hold it for long. Sky ran after Luke as he hid his face in Sarah Jane's shoulder.

"It's okay. Let's go sit down." She led him to the living room. Once they were sitting on the couch he broke down again. She held him and waited for him to calm down. When he had, she smiled. "Now, why don't you tell us what's wrong?"

'Us?' He looked up. Luke and Sky were sitting in chairs watching with concern. A plate of cookies and four cups of tea sat on the table.

"I-I just." He sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

Sky moved to sit next to him on the couch. "Please tell us Nico. Let us help." 

He smiled a little. Sarah Jane and Luke were leaning forward, waiting.

"Percy made it to Camp Jupiter."

"That's good, isn't it?" Sky smiled a bit.

"Sort of." He ran a hand through his hair. "But, he doesn't remember anything. Just her. Why her, why couldn't he remember me?"

"Her?" Luke frowned, "Who's her?"

"Percy's girlfriend." Sarah Jane told him. She glanced at Nico, "Right?"

Nico nodded. "It's not just that though. Thantos was captured a couple months ago. Dad's been worse than usual because of all the extra work." He wiped his eyes. "I know he doesn't mean all the stuff he says to me, but-"

"What's he been saying?" Sarah Jane's eyes were hard.

Nico shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh yes it-"

"Mum! Nico, go on." Luke cut in.

"Well, my sister, Hazel, is going on a quest to free Thantos. Percy and Frank are going with her. Thantos's job is to take escaped souls back to the Underworld."

Sky interrupted this time, "Hazel is an escaped soul?"

"Yeah, I brought her back just after Thantos got chained, back in September. She'll probably die once she frees him."

"But she's helping him! And Percy and Frank will help her. Won't they?" Sky protested.

Nico shrugged. "It's his job. There's not really anything anyone can do about it."

"That's everything, right? Please tell me that's everything." Sarah Jane said.

"Um."

Luke groaned and Sky looked mildly horrified.

"What else is there." Sarah Jane sighed.

"I have to find the Doors of Death. I have an idea of where they are and- and it terrifies me." Another couple of tears fell.

"Where?" Luke asked. "Where do you think they are?"

"If I told you there's no way you'd let me go. And I have to find them. I have to." The last part was hardly more than a whisper. Like he was trying to convince himself as much as them.

"Why? Make someone else go! You've done enough, haven't you?" Sky shouted.

"No one else can! If I don't do it the monsters will keep coming. They won't die, not ever! You don't deal with them as much here, maybe they don't like all the aliens I don't know, but they will come if the Doors stay open. I can't let that happen, I can't lose my family again." At some point during his rant Nico had stood up.

"Nico." Sarah Jane pulled him down gently. She gave him his tea and a cookie. "We're just worried, that's all. Do you have to leave soon? Say no." She smiled to let him know she was at least partly joking.

"No..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah."

"No, yeah?" Luke tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, no." Sky chirped.

"I kinda just stopped by to tell you that I might not be able to come by for a while."

Sarah Jane frowned. "Oh, at least stay for dinner. Rani and Clyde are coming over with their families. They'll want to say hello. Especially if you can't come by for a while after today."

Nico sighed. He would like to see Clyde and Rani before he left. And Sarah Jane knew he sometimes forgot to eat.

"Okay, but just dinner. I'm leaving right after."

The three Smiths nodded, all of them grinning like maniacs.

\---------------------------------------------line break----------------------------------------

"If you don't send word, at the very least, within two weeks, I'll set the Doctor on your tail." Sarah Jane warned.

They had just finished dinner and Sarah Jane had walked him to the door. He was glad he'd stayed, honestly. It had been fun, even if Rani's mother was incredibly chatty.

"Oh, come on Sarah Jane. We both know there's no guaranteed way of getting ahold of him."

"Really? I was talking to Martha Jones last week, and it turns out the Doctor has a phone number. Which she gave me." Sarah Jane pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "She have him an old mobile of hers when she left the TARDIS so she could get hold of him if she needed him. So it's not as impossible as we first thought." She smirked.

"It's been an really long time since I saw the Doctor, maybe I should stay away."

"Don't you dare." She laughed.

He hugged her tightly. "Bye, Sarah Jane. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Good luck, and please be careful."

"I will." He gave her one more smile before shadow traveling away.


	5. Chapter Five

Nico woke up to the sound of a satyr screaming "Die!!" Followed by a familiar, English accented voice calling "Donna! I found him, but a crazy goat-man's trying to kill me!"

It had been about three weeks since he'd left Sarah Jane. During which i time he'd been to Tartarus, nearly suffocated in a big bronze jar, watched the boy he loved (and his girlfriend) fall into Tartarus, gone on a quest to rescue them, gotten turned into corn, and been outed by Cupid to someone who was basically a stranger. There was some other stuff, but those were the main points in his opinion. He was now shadow traveling a forty foot tall statue of Athena, a crazy satyr, and a Roman preator named Reyna from Greece to New York. To say it was exhausting was the understatement of the year.

They'd stopped in Pompeii to rest. Not that it had lasted long.

Nico sat up and rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes. Reyna stood over him. He saw Coach Hedge swinging his bat, trying to brain the Doctor.

The Doctor was tall and skinny. He had medium brown hair that stuck up in a sort of fohawk. He also had deep brown eyes that had seen more than some of the gods. He didn't look very old, maybe in his thirties, but he was actually somewhere around nine hundred. He was currently in a blue suit, tan trench coat, and white Converse high-tops.

"Coach! We've talked about this. He didn't do anything, you can't just attack people!" Reyna called. "Cut it out!"

A woman came running forward. Red hair was up in a ponytail, blue eyes, and only tall enough to reach the Doctor's shoulder. She wore a purple, short sleeve button-up and jeans. Donna Noble, the Doctor's latest companion.

"Oi!" She yelled. "You leave him alone, you stupid goat-man or I'll show you what you can do with that bat!"

"Donna!" Nico called. "Coach calm down I know them. They're friends."

"You sure?" He asked.

Nico nodded. Hedge sighed, clearly disappointed, and walked over to them. Donna and the Doctor followed.

"Nico! We've been looking all over for you. Sarah Jane's worried something happened to you." The Doctor said. "I told you looking here was a good idea, Donna."

She rolled her eyes. "You alright?" She hugged him.

"Fine. Mostly." He answered. "Oh, this is Reyna and Coach Hedge. Guys, this is the Doctor and Donna."

They said hello to each other, after the usual "Doctor who?" "Yes, if you like." The Doctor shook their hands, grinning the whole time. Hedge seemed to decide they were okay. Reyna on the other hand was still a bit suspicious.

"Right, off we go then." The Doctor grabbed Nico's hand and started to walk away.

Reyna grabbed his other hand before they could get too far out of reach. "Hey. He can't just go running off with you. We have a mission to finish. You can tell this Sarah Jane woman, that Nico's fine, but we don't have time to go on side trips."

"What kind of mission?" Donna asked, frowning.

Nico jerked his hand from Reyna's, shooting her a glare to remind her that, when they weren't shadow traveling, she shouldn't touch him. He turned to the Doctor and Donna, gesturing to the statue. "We need to get this thing to New York."

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket and scanned the statue. He stared at the results for a second.

"What did you-" Reyna started.

"Just taking measurements. This is just." He sighed. "Brilliant. Donna, Nico make sure you all stay close to the statue." Without another word, he ran off.

\--------------------------line break-----------------------

The Doctor had only been gone a minute or two when Gaea attacked. A wave of dirt-encased ghosts came at them. The dirt kept Nico from being able to control them. The Diocletian scepter broke when he summoned some allies for Reyna. The effort of doing so combined with trying to control the ghosts almost made Nico pass out. Coach Hedge helped Reyna fight while he leaned on Donna, trying not to lose consciousness.

"Where is that stupid spaceman?" Donna snapped. "Doctor! If you don't get over here in the next three seconds!" She left the threat hanging.

"Donna, listen." Nico managed to gasp out. They could hear the TARDIS starting to materialize. "Reyna, Coach get closer to us."

They did as he said. Staying as close as they could while still keeping the ghosts away.

The TARDIS fully materialized around them. Reyna stumbled as Donna helped Nico to the couch-like chair by the console.

The console was in the middle of the room. It was round and covered with all sorts of buttons, levers, and the like. A clear tube came up from the middle of it and disappeared into the ceiling. It moved up and down when the TARDIS started up. The room itself was circular, the walls dome-shaped. Branch-like figures came up from the floor and connected to the walls at the edge of the room. The walls were covered with round things that looked like lights.

"Sorry for the delay. She was being a bit temperamental." The Doctor apologized.

Reyna and Hedge were looking around in awe. It took them a minute to notice what was missing.

"Where's the statue?" Hedge demanded.

"Relax. I put it in another room. Can't have it crowding up everything in here, now can I?"

Donna had been checking Nico for any injuries. Once she was satisfied that he only suffered from exhaustion she stood and walked over to the Doctor.

"What took you so long? We were attacked! Did you go for some bloody carry out or something? We nearly died!" Nico was a little surprised that Donna didn't slap him.

"I told you, she's temperamental today. And besides, how many times- wait. Did you say attacked?" He cut himself off. "By what?"

They told him what happened.

"Hmm. Maybe I should-"

"Doctor." Nico sighed. "We're kind of short on time here, remember?"

"Right. Good point. To Sarah Jane's! I'll get us there, ooh, yesterday morning sound good? You know she'll insist on us staying the night."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of expression?" Reyna asked.

"No, it's a time machine." Donna told her.

"That's so cool!" Hedge yelled. "Hey, could we go see-"

"No." Reyna and Nico spoke in unison.

"You said you needed to get to New York, yeah?" The Doctor broke in.

"Uh huh. Long Island to be specific." Nico answered

"I land there too much. I'll need to start limiting going there if I don't want to run into myself. Can you get there by yourself if I land you a couple miles outside the city?"

"Really? That's way more than we were expecting, Doctor thank you! If you have to just drop is off at Sarah Jane's that's fine too you know." Nico told him.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll only leave you part way if I get called off somewhere. You know how rarely that happens."

Nico grinned and launched forward to hug him, whispering his thanks. Reyna and Hedge looked pretty freaked out by Nico's sudden display of affection.

"You should rest." The Doctor told him when they'd pulled away from each other. "You must be tired shadow traveling around so much."

"It's fine." Nico started.

"Oh no it's not." Donna frowned. "You sleep. We can pilot this thing to Sarah Jane's just fine."

The Doctor pouted when she called the TARDIS a thing. "No wonder she's in a bad mood today. Getting called a thing." He muttered.

Nico smiled a bit and yawned. Donna pointed at the couch. Nico rolled his eyes and lay down. He fell asleep to the sound of the Doctor giving instructions to the others.

\-----------------------------------line break------------------------

"Nico." Donna shook him gently. "It's time to wake up."

Nico blinked sleepily at her. "Are we there?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Come on, your Mum's waiting."

Nico sat up and yawned. The others weren't in the TARDIS. "Where-"

"Inside. They wanted to let you sleep a bit more."

"Mm-kay." He stretched. "We should probably go in then, huh?"

She nodded. "Good plan."

Nico noticed Donna staring at him as they walked to the door.

"What?"

"Have you been eating? Honestly, you're skinnier than him. I'm a bit worried a breeze will come snap you in half."

"I'm not that bad." He protested. He poked his stomach experimentally.

Donna gave him a look and he scowled at her in response, he had to look away after a second though.

As soon as they walked into the house, Nico was nearly tackled by Sky. She'd been waiting by the door just so she'd be the first one to hug him.

"Nico! We were so worried. I missed you so much, big brother." She cried.

Nico couldn't help but smile. That was the first time she'd actually called him "big brother."

He returned the hug and started stroking her hair. "It's okay. I'm okay, little sister. I promise."

A second later she let go and started pulling him to the living room. He heard Donna laughing softly at the scene. He shoot her an irritated look. She just smirked.

"You might want to brace yourself. Mum's not very pleased with you just now. She's happy you're safe, of course, but still. We were really scared you'd been killed or something. You're probably going to be getting the scolding of your life." Sky warned.

"Oh, great." Nico ran a hand through his hair.

Sitting in the living room was Sarah Jane, Luke, Rani, Clyde, the Doctor, Reyna, and Hedge. They all looked up when the three of them walked into the room.

"About time you woke up, cupcake." Hedge grumbled. Reyna smacked his arm.

Rani launched herself at Nico. He let go of Sky's hand so he could catch her. They both ended up crashing to the ground. Rani on top of him. She didn't seem to mind.

"We missed you so much! Clyde's been almost too much to handle. It's getting ridiculous." She grinned. They had a running joke that, since Luke left for college, Nico and Rani had to keep Clyde from doing something stupid. (In reality Clyde kept them out of trouble as much, if not more, than they did for him. He just joked in serious situations more often.)

"I missed you too, Rani." He pat her back twice. "Could you get off me though? You're kind of starting to crush me."

"Sorry." She blushed and got up.

Clyde had walked over and held a hand out to help him up. Nico took it, and Clyde pulled him up and into a hug.

"It's good to have you back, mate." He let go.

Luke put a hand on Nico's shoulder and stared at him for a moment. Tears filled his eyes and he pulled Nico into a bone-crushing hug.

"Little brother. I can't tell you how glad I am you're back." He whispered. Nico clung to his brother just as tightly as he had three weeks ago.

Sarah Jane cleared her throat and the two boys let go of each other.

She had her arms crossed as she scrutinized him. He glanced at the Doctor. Donna had sat down next to him. He smiled at Nico and gave him a thumbs up.

Sarah Jane suddenly grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up so she could see his ribs. She was standing in front of him so only Luke, Sky, Clyde, and Sarah Jane could see. Rani having gone back to her chair already. It didn't make it any less embarrassing.

"Sarah Jane!" He yelped.

She frowned. "Nice to know you still have all your ribs." Her voice was flat. She let go of his shirt. He pulled it as far down as he could and crossed his arms in front of himself protectively. Starting at her with wide eyes.

Reyna arched an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't like to be touched."

Nico glared at her as Sarah Jane put an arm around his shoulders.

"Not by most people, but family doesn't count as 'most people,' right Nico?" She rubbed his arm to reassure him. He blushed a little and nodded.

"Family? You said Hazel was your only family." Reyna frowned.

"She's my only family by blood." Nico answered.

"Looks like you've been keeping more secrets than I thought. You should've said something."

"I might've of you asked."

Reyna blinked. "Seriously?"

He snorted and shook his head. He turned to Sarah Jane. "Would you mind if I went back to sleep? I'm still pretty exhausted."

"Of course. Luke, why don't you let Nico sleep in your room for now? Just until lunchtime."

"Sure." He led Nico upstairs to his room. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem sort of, off."

"Yeah, I'm just tired. I get nightmares if I don't wear myself out enough before trying to sleep. It makes me a little snappy that's all."

"Do you need anything?"

Nico fell face first on the bed. His voice came out muffled, "I'm good."

Luke sighed. He sat down next to the younger boy and started taking off his shoes. After, he carefully tucked him in.

"Luke?" He turned his head to speak, but his voice sounded really small, even to himself.

"Yes?"

"Could you tell Reyna that I'm sorry for being rude to her? She's been nice to me and I've been pretty cold." He smiled a little. "She doesn't deserve it. It's not her fault most people don't like me. Maybe I shouldn't push her away so much."

Luke frowned as he sat on the bed. "We like you."

"I said *most* people, not everyone. Besides, you're special."

"Nico-" He sighed.

"Will you tell her?"

"Yeah, I'll tell her."

"Thank you." He fell asleep a moment later.


	6. Chapter Six

"No-, please-, stop it." Nico whimpered. "Percy-, I can't-, DON'T! NO!" Someone started shaking him. "Don't hurt him, please. PERCY!"

"Nico, come on, please wake up." A voice said.

"No, you can't. Please!"

"Nico!"

He screamed and sat up, eyes wide in fear. "D-Doctor?" He panted.

"Hi." The Time Lord was sitting on the bed next to him. He looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It was just a nightmare." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"It sounded pretty bad."

"It's nothing."

"Nico." He put an arm around the demigod's shoulders. "That wasn't nothing. You were screaming. We could hear you downstairs."

Nico buried his face in his hands and squeaked out, "Sorry."

"Don't be. Why don't you tell me about it? It might help."

"I don't know." He frowned. "You sure you wanna hear? You've got enough to worry about."

He sighed. "Nico I care about you. I may not be around as often as you'd like, but I want to help you when I can. Besides, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked."

Nico laughed softly. "You sounded kind of like the gods just then. They always say stuff like that to their kids."

"Should I be offended?"

He shrugged.

"I have to say, that was a wonderful way to change the subject. If I was any less observant I might not have noticed. You don't have to tell me, I just thought it would help."

"You really think it will?"

"I do."

He sighed and leaned against the Doctor, who started to run his fingers through Nico's hair.

He licked his lips. "I was in Tartarus again. I could- I could hear someone calling for help, so I went to see who it was. There were monsters everywhere. They surrounded him."

"Him?"

"P-percy. They were hurting him. I tried to get to him, but they wouldn't let me through. They kept pushing me back. I-I didn't have a weapon to force my way through." He swallowed. "Percy saw me. H-he started calling for me, begged me to help him. The-the monsters started yelling at me as I tried to get to him. Telling me how useless trying to save him was. That he'd never want me, or even really look at me. That they were doing me a favor by killing him. I should just walk away. I managed to push through to him, but the second I t-touched him, h-he died. I-I begged him to come back, I t-told him that he couldn't just leave me there alone. But he-he was dead. He c-couldn't come back. The-the monsters said it was m-my fault. E-everything I touch dies, I-I killed him. They came after me next. I woke up as the first one went to hit me."

By the time he had finished there were tears running down his face. He sniffled and looked up at the Doctor.

"Nico. People don't die because you care about them."

"My mother did. And Bianca. I'm scared to hang around here in case something happens. And Hazel. The Romans don't really accept me, they barely accept her. I couldn't stay close to her if I wasn't terrified I'd get her killed somehow. That's the real reason I don't stay in one place too long. I'll get attached, and someone will die."

"Nico. Bianca and your mother didn't die because you loved them. I'm sure there are people at both camps who consider you a friend and are perfectly fine. Besides, Sarah Jane and her friends get into plenty of trouble on their own. They can take care of themselves."

Nico snorted. "If a monster attacked someone here, Sarah Jane would punch it in the face or something."

"See? They're your family and they're totally fine."

They both laughed a little.

"Still tired?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes. But I can't go back to sleep. The nightmares will come back."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "I could put you to sleep. No nightmares, promise."

Nico sat up and looked at him skeptically. "Are you going to knock me out?"

He laughed. "Not exactly. It's kind of hard to explain. Do you trust me to do it without the explanation?"

"Will it hurt?" He shook his head. "Okay. Do it."

"Close your eyes."

He sighed but did as he was told. The Doctor put his hands on either side of his head and shifted to rest his forehead on Nico's. Then he stood, careful to keep contact, and lowered the boy so he was flat on his back. He crouched next to the bed so their foreheads were still touching.

"Relax. Focus on your breathing or your heartbeat. You'll drift off faster."

Nico sighed again, more relaxed this time. A second later, he'd fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler. Sorry


	7. Chapter Seven

"Nico, get up." A girl's voice said. "Niiiicooo."

He groaned and opened his eyes. Rani was standing over him, a small smile on her lips. He blinked and sat up.

"What time is it?"

"About seven. After the Doctor came back down we decided you should sleep more. Sarah Jane told me to get you for dinner though." Her smile widened. "You look kind of adorable when you're sleeping. It was a shame to wake you."

"Do not. I just woke up." He tried for a scowl, but it was ruined when he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Rani tried to stifle a laugh. "Okay, sorry. Come on. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

He smiled at her and the two headed downstairs.

\-----------------------------line break-------------------------

After they'd finished eating the Doctor looked at Nico and said, "So, tomorrow I think we should go around-" He broke off and pulled out his psychic paper with a small frown.

"Oh what now?" Donna sighed.

He turned to her. "We need to go." He stood. "Nico, I'm so sorry. Can you get there on your own?"

"I was planning it until you found me. This was a nice break, but I can take it from here." He answered.

"Good. I'm sorry really. It's just, galaxies in danger, you know how it is." He flashed a quick smile.

"I get it. Go save people, Time Lord. We've got this planet covered."

"Hold on." Hedge scowled. "You've got a *time* machine. What's the rush?"

The Doctor sighed. "If I attempted to explain the complexities of time and the universe to you do you honestly believe you'd understand a word of it?"

"Maybe not." The satyr said slowly. 

"Thought so. Now, Donna, let's go."

"Oh, Doctor, don't forget you promised you'd come back for Christmas this year." Sarah Jane reminded him quickly.

"Wouldn't dream of missing it." He grinned.

"And if he does forget, I'll just have to drag him back myself." Donna added.

They laughed and called their goodbyes. Once the two left, Sarah Jane went upstairs to get Mr. Smith to put a perception filter on the statute that would now be standing in front of her house.

"Well, don't know about Rani, but my mum's gonna be spitting mad if I don't get home soon." Clyde said. He stood and stretched. "How early are you lot leaving, then?"

"Not until after breakfast." Nico answered.

"We should go sooner than that." Reyna protested.

"Yes, we should." He agreed. "But there's no way Sarah Jane would let us get away with it."

"And if she did, Luke and I wouldn't!" Sky chimed in.

Luke smirked a little and nodded in agreement.

"Fine, after breakfast." Reyna sighed.

"You know," Hedge started in a low voice. "I could probably-"

"Touch them and die." Nico interrupted.

"Fine." He grumbled.

Rani cleared her throat. "We'll try and stop by before you leave." She smiled.

Nico stood and hugged them both goodbye, as did Luke and Sky. After they'd left Nico sat back down on the couch with Reyna.

"Relax." He said. "The Doctor got us an extra day, remember? Besides, I needed a bit of a break. Lugging all of you around is really exhausting."

"Why Nico, are you calling me fat?" Reyna lifted an eyebrow.

Nico smiled a bit. So Reyna could joke. That was good to know. Before he could think of a good response, Sarah Jane came back into the room.

"It's getting late. You should all get some sleep. Sky, would you mind sharing your room with Reyna for tonight?" She asked.

"Alright." She half skipped over and sat next to her.

Sarah Jane smiled. "Let's see, Nico you'll be in Luke's room of course." The boys grinned at each other. "Coach, do you mind sleeping on the couch? I'm sure I can figure something else out if you do."

"No ma'am. The couch is fine."

"Thank you. Now, off to bed. You can leave after breakfast tomorrow morning."

Nico shot Reyna a "what did I tell you?" look and a small smile. He followed Luke upstairs to bed.

\------------------------------line break-----------------------------

The next morning Nico, Reyna, and Hedge stood outside next to the statue saying their goodbyes. The Smith family, Rani, and Clyde were fussing over them, making sure they had what they needed and would come back to visit soon (mainly Nico and Reyna). Of course this meant Nico got hugged, a lot.

"Wouldn't it be easier for you to do this at night?" Sky asked.

"Yeah." Nico sighed.

"Well in that case, maybe-" Rani started.

"No." Nico smiled a little. "We've wasted enough time and there is a war coming if we don't make it in time. Nice try though."

Rani laughed and hugged Reyna, who looked kind of startled by it. "It was nice meeting you." She pulled back. "Be sure to visit, I might even get my parents to visit San Francisco sometime."

Reyna laughed. "You certainly make friends quickly, don't you Rani?"

"Yep. Oh, here's my number. I don't have many girl friends my age so please call." She leaned forward and added softly, "Sky's a bit young to talk about some things. And I feel a bit akward talking to Sarah Jane sometimes, you know. I love her, but still."

"I get it. Not sure I can actually visit often though. Preator's duties."

Sarah Jane pulled Nico aside during the girls' conversation. "Nico, when you come back, could you try and bring Percy and Annabeth with you?"

"Why? Are you going to embarrass me?"

"No." She laughed. "I just want to meet the boy you're in love with and his girlfriend. Is that so wrong?"

Nico blushed.

She smiled and hugged him again. "Even if you can't, or really don't want to, come back soon okay? We love you dear."

"Love you too, Sarah Jane. I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise."

"Good. Off you go."

He fastened the straps holding him to the statue and grabbed Reyna's hand. Hedge put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at his family and waved goodbye. He willed the shadows to envelope them and they were gone.


	8. Chapter Eight

Percy and Annabeth were sitting by the lake together talking. They weren't as affectionate in public as they used to be. In fact, Nico didn't think he'd seen them kiss since before the war ended. Not that he was complaining. It made things a bit easier for him, not having to watch the guy he had a crush on make out with his girlfriend.

He sighed in resignation. Sarah Jane had asked to meet them two weeks ago. The war was over and Will Solace had forced him to stay in the infirmary for three days. They'd actually become pretty good friends in that time. There were even rumors that they were dating.

'Okay, you can do this. Just ask them to come see Sarah Jane with you. They might say no.' He frowned. Maybe he should ask later. 'You chicken. Just go ask. Come on you promised her.' He groaned quietly, he couldn't chicken out now. Stupid self with my good arguments.

He walked over to where Percy and Annabeth were sitting. "Um. Percy, Annabeth?"

They turned. "Oh, hi Nico. What's up?" Annabeth smiled at him.

'Why do you have to be so nice? Things would be so much easier if I could just hate you.' He thought. 'Bad Nico. Focus.'

"I need you to come with me." He blurted.

"Come with you where?" Percy asked. "It's not a quest, is it?" His eyebrows drew together in concern.

'Damn it.' Nico thought. 'Why do you have to be so adorable Percy? I'm trying to get over you.'

"No. It's not a quest." He paused, "I just- I promised Sarah Jane I'd ask you to come meet her and she really wants you to. I can tell, and she won't press if you say no, but she'll be disappointed. You won't have to deal with that look in her eyes, but I will. And I can't, I can't disappoint her. So just please, come with me." He said in a rush.

"Woah. Did you breathe at all just then?" Percy smirked.

Annabeth smacked his arm lightly. "Who's Sarah Jane? And why would she was want to meet us?"

Nico sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Sarah Jane is, well, she's the closest thing I've got to a mom, I guess. She wants to meet you because I've mentioned you so she's curious. Are you going to come with me or not?"

"I'm game." Percy said with a shrug.

"Why not?" Annabeth agreed.

Nico led them to the woods, there were more shadows there so it was much easier to shadow travel away.

\---------------------------line break---------------------------

Quite honestly, Nico had been a little afraid that he'd start to fade away again. He was pleased to find himself still substantial after arriving on Sarah Jane's doorstep. 'Maybe I should've thought that through a bit more.' He mused.

"Where are we?" Annabeth looked around.

"Ealing." He answered, exhausted.

"Okay, I'm terrible with geography. Where's Ealing?" Percy asked.

"England. Downtown London is that way." He pointed.

"Oh."

"Are we going to knock on the door? I mean, I kind of assumed that this is where we were supposed to end up." Annabeth stepped towards the door.

Nico caught her arm to stop her. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

Percy looked at him in concern. "Are you okay? You look like you're gonna pass out or something."

"I'm fine. Too much shadow traveling with too little rest, that's all." He paused. "Don't tell Will. Three days stuck in the infirmary was bad enough."

Percy snorted and Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll have Mrs. O'Leary bring us home. Think that'll help?" Percy smiled.

Nico nodded. He knocked on the door.

After a minute of waiting Annabeth spoke, "Nico, are you sure she's home right now?"

He just knocked again, harder this time.

Rani opened the door a second later.

"Hey." Nico smiled. "I-." He was cut off when Rani threw her arms around him. 'At least she didn't tackle me this time.'

"About time you showed up again." She squeezed him a little tighter. "We were starting to get worried."

"Rani. Can't breathe." He gasped.

She let go. "Sorry. You just missed Luke, you know. He went back to Oxford yesterday. Naturally, he was a bit disappointed he didn't get to see you before he left, but term's starting soon so there was no help for it. Who're these two then?"

"Okay, first off, slow down. I can barely understand you. This is Percy and Annabeth."

"Hello. I'm Rani." She smiled and waved brightly.

Clyde appeared in the doorway. "Nico." He grinned. "Still not dead then?"

"Not yet." He shrugged.

"Who're you two? Nevermind, I'll hear the introductions when Sarah Jane and Sky do." He turned back to Nico. "You look like you're about to fall over."

"I'm just a bit tired."

Clyde got a mischievous glint in his eye that Hermes's kids would be proud of. Nico started to take a step back, but he wasn't fast enough. Clyde scooped him up and into a fireman's carry before turning and walking inside. Nico started cursing him immediately. The other three followed. Percy and Annabeth in shock while Rani was laughing her head off.

Clyde dropped Nico on the couch with a smirk. Nico fixed him with a glare that sent most people running.

"I hate you." He snarled.

"No, you don't." Clyde grinned.

"Nico!" A girl's voice squealed. That was all the warning he got before getting tackled by Sky. His side was pressed into the cushions with the twelve year old on top of him. He turned his upper body so he was on his back instead.

"Sky, as happy as I am to see you, could you get off?"

She laughed and did as he asked. The moment he sat up a plate of sandwiches was shoved into his hands. Looking up he saw Sarah Jane with a small smile on her lips. Percy and Annabeth were sitting in the armchairs each with their own plate.

"So," Sarah Jane sat down next to Nico. Rani and Clyde did the same on his other side and Sky sat on the floor at his feet. "You must be Annabeth and Percy. I'm Sarah Jane Smith. This is my daughter, Sky, and you've already met Clyde and Rani."

"Oh. That's who you are. Should've guessed." Clyde said, attempting to steal a sandwich from Nico's plate. Nico smacked his hand with a glare.

Sarah Jane focused on her two guests. "Nico's told us a lot about you two."

Percy swallowed a bite of sandwich. "He didn't say too many bad things, I hope."

"Why would he say bad things when he-" Sky was cut off when Nico leaned over and shoved a sandwich in her mouth.

Percy lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Sky talks too much." He explained.

She swallowed. "Do not!"

He stuck his tongue out at her.

Sarah Jane shot a look at the two of them before turning to a stunned Percy and Annabeth. "So you two are dating?"

"Brilliant subject change, Sarah Jane." Rani snickered.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Actually, we broke up a couple weeks ago."

"Oh really?" Rani had the same look in her eye Clyde had gotten before picking Nico up.

"How come I haven't heard about that sooner?" Nico frowned. He decided not to think about whatever Rani was planning, yet. "You'd think the camp would go crazy about their power couple breaking up."

They both blushed. "Yeah well. It's not really any of their business." She answered.

"What happened?" Sky asked.

They looked at each other briefly before quickly looking away again. "We just weren't working as a couple anymore. Too many bad memories. So, we figured we should salvage our friendship while we still could." Percy told them.

"Oh."

"Well," Sarah Jane said. "I should wash these plates. Percy, could you give me a hand?"

"Uh, sure." He stood.

"Sarah Jane, I could-" Nico started.

"Oh no. You're tired. Rest. Besides, I wanted to talk to him in private."

"Should I be scared?" Percy asked, half joking.

Nico made a small squeaking sound in response.

Clyde laughed. "Don't worry. It's probably nothing."

"Ookay." He took Annabeth's plate and followed Sarah Jane out of the room.

"Sky, why don't you show Annabeth Mr. Smith?" Rani suggested.

"Mr. Smith?" Annabeth repeated.

"Sarah Jane's super computer." Nico's voice was muffled by his hands.

"Really?" She said, intrigued.

"Yeah." Sky said brightly. "Come on, I'll show you."

Once they'd left, Clyde turned to Nico. "Alright, you can freak out now."

Nico looked at them. "She's going to tell him. Once he knows he'll hate me. Or be disgusted. I should've left after the battle like I told Jason I would."

Clyde locked eyes with Rani. "You wanna take this or should I?"

Rani smiled at him before turning to Nico. "Do you trust Sarah Jane?"

"Of course." Nico frowned.

"Then you should know that she'd never tell someone your secret unless you said okay." She said reasonably.

"Besides," Clyde added. "If he's that close-minded, he doesn't deserve you in the first place."

"You really think so?" Nico breathed.

"Of course." They said in unison.

He smiled at them. "Sorry, I guess I'm pretty high maintenance today, huh?"

They both burst out laughing. Nico couldn't help but join in. Percy and Sarah Jane came back in room as the three of them struggled to calm down and breathe.

"Did we miss something?" Percy asked.

"No," Clyde gasped. "He just looked, so, serious."

Sarah Jane cleared her throat. "Where's Sky and Annabeth?"

Nico's laughter had died down, but he was still smiling. "They went to the attic. Sky wanted to introduce Annabeth to Mr. Smith."

"I'll go check on them." She sighed.

Once she'd gone, Nico noticed that Percy was staring at him. His smile died down and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. "What?"

"I just-." Now Percy was blushing too. "I never noticed how cute you look when you smile."

"Aww." Rani grinned.

Nico's face was bright red. "You- I- you're straight! You can't think I'm cute!"

Percy scratched the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. He mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Rani smirked.

"I'm bi." Percy sighed. He was blushing even more now. "Can we forget I said anything, please?" He begged.

"Sure." Clyde smiled. "Do you know how to skateboard? I haven't had anyone decent to board with since Maria moved to the States."

Percy sat down looking relieved. "I used to. Haven't had much time for it in a couple years, though."

"Still got the board?"

"Are you kidding? Do you realize how much that thing cost? I'm not getting rid of it unless it breaks or something."

Clyde laughed. "Next time you come over bring it. There's a skate park down the road. We can see how rusty you can get in a couple years."

"Sounds like a plan."

Annabeth, Sky, and Sarah Jane came back into the room.

"Oh my gods! That was awesome. Seriously, Percy you gotta go see it." Annabeth blinked. "Nico, you okay?"

Nico had been staring at nothing in a state of shock. He looked up when Annabeth his name. "Percy's bisexual."

"I know."

"You know?"

She laughed. "Well yeah. Honestly, he stared at Luke almost as much as I did."

"I did not!" Percy protested.

"When did you two meet Luke?" Sky frowned.

"Different Luke, Sky." Nico groaned.

"Oh."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Well, we're quite popular today." Sarah Jane said. She walked out again.

"Nico." Percy sounded hesitant. "Are you totally freaked out? Because I'm bi?"

"What?" His head snapped up. "No. I'm just- it's startling. I always assumed you were- I mean, with Annabeth and Rachel and all. Well, I guess I was wrong."

Sarah Jane poked her head back into the room. "Rani, your mother's here."

"Be right there." She turned to the others. "You three will still be here tomorrow, won't you?"

"Most likely. I'm not sure I could handle getting back until then." He paused and looked over at Percy and Annabeth. "That is okay, right?"

"I'm fine with it." Annabeth shrugged.

Percy nodded. "I should probably Iris message my mom though. She's not expecting me back home yet, but still."

"See you tomorrow then." Rani said brightly.

Clyde stood and have her a quick kiss. "Bye."

She left.

"So. You and Rani, huh?" Percy smiled.

"Yeah. She's brilliant." He answered.

"Nice." He looked up when Sarah Jane came back in. "Do you have a prism or something? I need to message my mom."

"I think we've got something you can use in the attic."

"Thanks."

Sarah Jane led him upstairs.

Nico waited until they were out of sight before turning to Annabeth. "How long after the war did you two break up?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Straight to the point, Nico?"

"Answer the question, Wise Girl." He growled.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" She countered.

"It's because he-" Clyde cut Sky off this time.

"Sky, how about you come upstairs with me! I should go soon and I need to say goodbye to Sarah Jane."

She caught sight of Nico's glare. "Right. Let's go." She fled the room with Clyde following.

Annabeth was staring. "You've got a crush on Percy."

"No, I don't." He was starting to blush again.

"You totally do. That's why you freaked out when you found out we broke up. And that he was bi. Now you're asking about when we broke up because you don't want to be the rebound." She grinned. "This makes so much sense! I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"Please don't tell him." He whispered.

"I won't." She promised gently. "You should though."

Nico shook his head quickly. "No. He'll hate me."

"No, he won't. Just try Nico. Realistically, the worst that could happen is that he's not interested. And if he isn't, he'll be as gentle as he can be when telling you so. Either way, you'll know. Then it'll be easier for you to move forward."

"Are you mad?" 

"No. I'm not his girlfriend anymore, and I want him to be happy. Think you're up to the task to keep him that way?" She smiled playfully.

"I'm not sure." He admitted. "I'd like to try though."

"Good. You both deserve to be happy. Though, keep in mind, if you hurt him I will come after you." She added, smile dropping from her face.

He nodded. "Right."

Her smile came back. "Don't worry, if he hurts you, I'll go after him. Though, judging on what I saw in camp, I may have to work to beat Will to it." 

A small laugh escaped him. "Thanks, Annabeth."

\------------------------------line break----------------------------

Of course Nico and Percy had to share Luke's room that night. They'd fought about who would sleep on the floor until Sarah Jane came in and dumped a mound of blankets and pillows on the floor. She'd left without a word. Nico had jumped into the pile and glared at Percy until he'd gotten into the bed. He then spent the better part of an hour trying to shut his mind off and go to sleep.

After staring at the ceiling for forty-five minutes or so he whispered, "Percy? You awake?"

"Let me guess, you couldn't sleep either." Nico could almost hear Percy's smile.

"No." He chewed on his lower lip. Should he tell him now? Percy didn't sound tired and Nico sure wasn't. It was late enough that they wouldn't have any interruptions. This was probably one of the best chances he was going to get. "Percy?"

Percy turned to his side so he could look at Nico. "Yes?"

Their eyes locked. He couldn't do it. "What do you think of Sarah Jane?" 'Coward.' He berated himself.

"She's cool. I kinda want to introduce her to my mom, just to see what happens, you know?" He laughed and added, "I'm a little scared to find out, honestly, but it'll be worth watching."

Nico smiled. "Not totally unreasonable. Being scared of that. I've met your mom. The only thing that would make it worse would be if Donna was there too."

"Who's Donna?"

"Tell you tomorrow."

"Okay."

He paused. "I'm glad you like her."

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?"

Nico realized he was still staring into Percy's eyes. They were so intense, it felt like Percy was trying to read his mind or something.

'Just tell him. "Percy, I like you." How hard is that?'

"No." He half squeaked. "Good night."

He turned his back on the older boy and pulled one of the blankets up to his ears. 'Damn it. '


	9. Chapter Nine

Labor day weekend they went back to Sarah Jane's. They had Mrs. O'Leary take them since Nico had had to shadow travel Jason to New Rome a couple days earlier. Unfortunately, he still couldn't travel as much as he used to without risk of fading away.

Percy brought along his skateboard, he'd promised Clyde after all. Sarah Jane had to work on an article, so the six teens decided to have a picnic at the park on Sunday. Nico watched Percy and Clyde board while the girls talked about their previous adventures.

Percy grinned when he noticed Nico watching. "Hey Nico. Want a turn?"

He shook his head. "I don't know how."

"That's alright. I can teach you." He put his skateboard down in front of Nico.

"Um, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"You don't have to do tricks or anything. Just stand on it and I'll pull you." He held his hands out. "Don't you trust me?"

He hesitated before taking Percy's hands and stepping onto the board. "If I fall Jackson-"

Percy laughed. "Don't worry. I'll catch you."

Clyde snickered at them. Nico turned to glare at him, he lost his balance and fell on Percy's chest. Clyde started laughing his head off. The girls looked over to see Nico clinging to Percy.

"It's okay." Nico could feel Percy's breath on his ear. "I've got you."

He pushed away, blushing.

"Clyde!" Rani called. "Are you teasing Nico and Percy?"

Clyde calmed down enough to say, "Sorry. Just, the look on his face."

Nico scowled at him. "You know Clyde, if we weren't friends, I'd send zombies after you."

"But we are friends." He pointed out.

"You're pushing it."

Percy cleared his throat. He'd brought the board back and held his hands out. "Wanna try again?"

"Can we eat first?"

"Sure. If you're done, Clyde?"

After they ate, Percy went back to pulling Nico around on his board. Sky thought it looked like fun and got Clyde to agree to pull her around too. Of course, Clyde decided he could go faster, and therefore make it more fun, if he had his hands on Sky's waist and pushed her from behind. Percy convinced Nico to let him try it, which led to Percy and Clyde racing. Annabeth and Rani cheered them on from the sidelines.

"We win." Percy declared, panting slightly.

"Do not." Clyde was a little more out of breath than Percy. Which made sense as Clyde had never had to run around and fight with armor on.

"You know, we have two unofficial judges sitting over there." Nico drawled, stepping carefully off the board.

"Good point." Sky agreed. "Annabeth, Rani! Who won?"

"I couldn't tell." Annabeth admitted.

"I say it was a tie." Rani announced.

"Really?" Annabeth frowned.

"Not a clue." She shrugged. Both girls burst out laughing.

"Wanna go again? To break the, er, tie." Clyde asked.

"Nope." Nico said firmly.

"Aw, come on."

"No, Clyde."

"Fine." He pouted.

"We should head home soon." Sky commented.

"Yeah." Percy handed Sky his board. "Could you put this with our other stuff for me? I need to talk to Nico alone for a minute."

Nico started twisting his skull ring say nervously.

Sky beamed at him. "Sure." She ran off.

Clyde winked at Nico before following her.

Percy led him to a bench out of earshot of their friends. They say together in silence for about a minute.

Finally, Nico couldn't take it anymore. "Well? You said you wanted to talk. That kind of implies that you, you know, speak."

Percy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out how to word this."

"What?"

"Um."

Exasperated he snapped, "Look, if you just brought me over here to waste my time, then I'm just going to go."

He stood to leave but was stopped when Percy grabbed his arm.

"Wait." Nico looked at him expectantly. Percy let go of him and took a deep breath. "NicoIlikeyou." The words blended together.

"I'm sorry, what?" He frowned.

"Nico," Percy said slower. "I like you. Not like a friend, like-, like someone I want to date."

"Is this some sort of joke? Because it's not funny Percy!"

"Nico, I-"

He cut him off. "Who even told you? Was it Annabeth? Or, did Sky let something slip?"

Percy grabbed his shoulders. "No one told me anything. I'm not joking around, Nico. I wanted to ask you out. If you're not interested or something, then please, tell me now so I can start trying to forget my embarrassment."

"I don't-." He swallowed. "I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why me? I'm the creepy son of Hades and you're, you're you. Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus and all that crap. Why would you pick me? You can have anyone."

Percy frowned. "No, I can't. I'm not gonna lie, the wars left me with, well, issues. I'm kinda clingy sometimes and I can get possessive. I'm not perfect Nico. I want you because you're smart, adorable, powerful, and easily one of the bravest people I've ever met. Last time we were here Sarah Jane reminded me of a lot of what you've done for me over the years. You never gave up on me. I can't think of a single reason I wouldn't like you."

Nico had no idea what possessed him to do it, but the next thing he knew he was kissing Percy. His brain caught up before Percy's and he pulled away quickly, eyes wide.

"I, um- I didn't-" He stammered.

"Nico." He smiled. "Stop talking." Percy's arms wrapped around his waist and suddenly they were kissing again.

Nico couldn't keep himself from grinning like am idiot when they pulled apart. "You kissed me."

"Well, yeah. But, to be fair, you did kiss me first." Percy rested his forehead against Nico's, smiling. "Nico, will you be my boyfriend?"

"After waiting four years? Hell yeah."

Percy's smile widened and he kissed Nico again.

Percy held his hand as they started walking back to the others. He paused and looked at Nico with a frown halfway back. "Four years? We've only known each other for two and a half."

Nico sighed. "So, there's this guy named the Doctor." He proceeded to tell Percy about the two years he spent traveling with the Doctor, in general terms, there wasn't time for him to get into the details. They started walking again, but more slowly, so Nico could finish before they got to the others.

Rani saw them holding hands when they got back. She squealed in excitement and hugged them. The other three had figured it out by the time Rani let go. Rani and Annabeth started asking for specifics with Sky and Clyde only asking one or two things each.

As they headed back to Sarah Jane's, Percy put his arm around Nico's shoulders. Nico only hesitated for a second before wrapping his arm around Percy's waist and cuddling up to him as best he could seeing as they were still walking.

Annabeth and Rani cooed at them. Nico blushed and ducked his head shyly.

"You're adorable." Percy grinned. He kissed Nico's cheek. Clyde started laughing when Nico's blush darkened.

\-----------------------line break------------------

Sarah Jane had been pleased to find out that they'd gotten together. After she gave Percy the obligatory "hurt him and I'll do unspeakable things to you" speech, she left to finish her article and order pizza for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you were wondering, Nico started traveling with the Doctor just after the Satan Pit and was dropped off at Sarah Jane's just before Sontaran Stratagem. For the Percy Jackson timeline it was the week or so before Percy's fifteenth birthday that he was gone.


	10. Chapter Ten

Once Thanksgiving rolled around, Nico brought Sarah Jane, Sky, and Luke to Sally's apartment. He passed out from exhaustion while Sky was knocking. Nico woke up on a couch with Percy's fingers running through his hair.

He blinked up at his boyfriend. "Hi."

"Hey." Percy smiled down at him.

"Nico! You're awake." Sky grinned. Nico jumped at the sound of her voice. He hadn't noticed she was there.

He sat up and looked around. He was in the apartment, which made sense. Sarah Jane and Sally were in the kitchen while Luke and Annabeth talked at the table. He couldn't see Paul anywhere.

"How long was I out?"

"About an hour." Percy said. He put his arms around Nico and pulled him closer. "Annabeth got here like, twenty minutes ago. She and Luke seem to have hit it off. I'm beginning to think she just has a thing for guys named Luke."

"I heard that." Annabeth scowled at him. Luke winked at Nico and pulled Annabeth back into the conversation.

Sky leaned closer to Nico. "I think they'll get together by Christmas."

"Sky, could you come give us a hand?" Sarah Jane called.

"Okay." She practically skipped to the kitchen.

"Where's Paul?"

"Store. We ran out of potatoes or something. I really hope you guys are hungry. Otherwise we'll be eating leftovers for a month." Percy grinned.

Nico laughed. "Maybe we can cut it down to two weeks for you."

"Oh, thank you. That's very much appreciated." Percy looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, since you were passed out and all, I haven't gotten to kiss you yet."

Nico tilted his head up to look at him better. "You're right. That really should be a crime." He grinned. "You should fix it."

"Well, seeing as it's a crime and I'd hate to be arrested." He kissed him.

"Do you two have to be so adorable together? We're going to have dinner soon, and you're making me sick with how sweet you are." Annabeth groaned.

Luke snorted. "I'm kind of glad I don't have to deal with it as much as Mum and Sky do."

"Hey! And you were so much worse than this when you were dating him, Annabeth." Nico snapped.

"Was not! You just think that because you were jealous." Annabeth protested.

"No. Will thought you were too."

"And how much time have you and Percy spent around Will together since you started dating?"

"Aren't people at least supposed to say hello before they go at each other like this?" Percy whined.

Nico jumped up and walked over to Annabeth with a mischievous smile. She grinned and followed suit. They shook hands, bowing slightly to each other as they did. "Why hello, Annabeth. It's wonderful to see you today." He said haughtily.

She affected the same tone and said, "Oh, hello, Nico. It is quite marvelous. I suppose we should speak of the weather now."

"Naturally, darling. It is a classic for small talk and we wouldn't want to offend anyone."

"Indeed, indeed. Let's begin then. The weather has been quite nice lately, wouldn't you say?"

"Truly. It's almost warm enough to be picnic weather."

"Perhaps Demeter is delaying Persephone for some reason."

"It would explain my father's mood as of late."

Percy groaned. "This is so much worse. Now, you're just mocking me."

That was, apparently, too much for Luke and he burst out laughing. Nico and Annabeth joined in a second later. Percy put his face in his hands. "I've created a monster." They all laughed harder at that.

Paul chose that moment to walk into the apartment carrying a bag of potatoes. He frowned in confusion on seeing the laughing teens. "Did I miss something?"

Sally came over and kissed him. "Don't worry about it, dear."

"Ookay." He followed her into the kitchen.

Nico dropped into Percy's lap after calming down and kissed him deeply. "You know we had to do it."

Percy sighed. "You really didn't though." Nico smiled. They kissed again and cuddled on the couch until dinner was ready.

\------------------line break----------------

They were about halfway through dinner when someone knocked on the door.

Sally frowned. "That's strange. We weren't expecting anyone else."

"I'll get it, Mom." Percy stood.

She flashed him a grateful smile and turned back to her conversation with Sarah Jane. Nico was still frowning. He thought he could sense something familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Dad!" Nico's head snapped up on time to see Poseidon giving Percy a hug.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Perseus." He smiled.

"Oh, sure. Don't bother greeting me." A voice grumbled from the hall. Nico paled as Hades stepped into view. The last time he'd seen his father was when he'd found out about his relationship with Percy. Basically, what had happened was Nico had blurted it out, then run back to the safety of camp before his father could process what he'd said and blow up.

"Don't be so grouchy, brother. It's a holiday, remember?"

Percy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Uncle. I got excited."

Hades huffed and stepped into the apartment. He nodded and mumbled a general greeting to everyone.

"Hello, everyone." Poseidon said brightly. He had an arm around Percy's shoulders as they walked over to the table. "Sally, lovely as ever. Paul, how's everything going?"

"Everything's good." He cleared his throat. "Sally's nearly done with her book."

"That's wonderful!" He beamed.

"Poseidon, Lord Hades." Sally smiled a little. "We weren't expecting either of you. I'm not sure we have enough chairs."

Nico slid farther down in his seat, trying to be as small as possible. Percy sat back down next to him and took his hand, squeezing it gently in an attempt to reassure him. Hades stood behind his son and lifted an eyebrow.

"Are we intruding?" He frowned.

"No. I suppose not. You are family after all." Sally answered.

"Good." He conjured two extra chairs. He dropped in between Nico and Sarah Jane. Poseidon rolled his eyes and sat next to Percy and Paul.

"Hades." Poseidon sighed. "We're guests, remember? Be a little more considerate." He turned to the other adults. "Sorry about him, he doesn't get much company."

"Hey!"

After a few minutes of small talk, Sarah Jane said, "So, you're Nico's father?" Nico swallowed nervously. She was using the same tone she used when she threatened aliens off Earth. They'd learned to run as fast as they could when she used it. It was deceptively sweet. And anyone who knew her was terrified of it.

"Mum." Luke frowned. Hades was a god, who knew what would happen.

Hades acted like Luke hadn't spoken. "I am. You're the one who's been helping him out the past couple of years, right?"

"In a sense. There were times he'd have forgotten to take care of himself properly if he hadn't come to visit. It's strange though. You'd think that was a parent's job."

"Sarah Jane." Nico said weakly. "Please, just drop it."

She smiled at him. "You know I can't do that. It's just not how I was taught."

Nico heard Percy whispering to Poseidon. "You're going to want to tape this."

"You think so?" Percy nodded. A second later there was a camera in Poseidon's hand, trained on Hades and Sarah Jane.

Nico squeezed Percy's hand a little tighter.

"Is it true that you told your son you wished he'd died and his sister had lived?" Sarah Jane's voice still had that conversational quality.

"I was angry. I didn't really mean it." He paused. "Well, the part about Bianca living, but not at the cost of Nico's life."

"But you still told him that. Did you ever actually say that you didn't mean it?"

"Not in those words, but-"

She cut him off. "You also called him weak and useless. Repeatedly. Are you going to deny it?"

"No."

She slapped him. Everyone else watched in shock. Except Poseidon, who was trying not to laugh and still had the camera rolling.

"Saying things like that even if you 'didn't mean it,'" She used finger quotes. "Is a form of abuse. I don't care who you are, or how much power you have, you do not get to belittle a child like that. Especially not your own."

"Look-"

"Did you ever hit him?"

"No!"

She looked at Nico. He shook his head wildly.

"There's that at least." She muttered.

"I was having a bad week, alright? I didn't mean any of the stuff I said, and Nico knows that." Hades rested a hand on Nico's shoulder.

Sky caught the furious look in her mother's eye. "Mum, maybe not the best idea." She warned.

Sarah Jane ignored her. Instead, she started ranting at Hades about proper child care, the repercussions of verbal abuse, and why making excuses did NOT make it even a little bit okay.

Poseidon leaned over to Percy and whispered, "Thanks for the warning. Zeus will pay big time for this."

Percy bit his lip to keep from laughing. Nico was too caught up in what was going on to scold his boyfriend. Or even spare a glare at him or his dad.

Once she'd finally finished, Sarah Jane locked eyes with Nico. "Now I'll drop it." She paused thoughtfully. "As soon as he promises to not do it again."

Hades rubbed his temples. "I promise. Just, don't go off like that again." Nico smiled weakly at him.

Sarah Jane nodded, pleased. "Sorry about that, Sally. I don't normally lose my temper like that."

"That's alright." Sally answered. "It was an... interesting exchange."

"That's one way of putting it." Percy snorted. Nico shoved him playfully. Percy grinned and kissed his temple.

Nico glanced at his father warily. If Hades didn't approve, well, Nico wasn't really sure what would happen. But he didn't think it would be good for him or Percy.

"Are you happy with him?" Hades had leaned in close and kept his voice low enough that only Nico could hear. The others had started up their own conversations.

"Yes." He swallowed. "I think-, I mean, I might be, falling in love with him. I-is that okay?" He fidgeted nervously. Moment of truth.

"I suppose it could be worse." He sighed. A small smirk touched his lips. "I have always preferred Poseidon to Zeus. But don't tell him I said that."

Nico grinned. "Thanks dad."

\---------------------line break-----------------

Hades have the Smiths a ride back to Ealing. Annabeth gave Luke her cell number and Skype address before he left. Percy teased her about it, of course. He was the second guy she liked named Luke, after all. Percy helped his mom clean up after everyone else had left, and Paul convinced Nico to stay the night.

It took a lot of convincing on Percy's part to get his parents to agree to let them both sleep in his room. He'd had to reassure them several times that they wouldn't do anything but sleep. Not that either of them had been planning on doing anything else, of course.

Nico crawled into Percy's bed about an hour later. Percy close behind.

"Good night." Percy kissed the tip of his nose.

Nico laughed quietly. "Good night."

Nico fell asleep with a grin on his face and his boyfriend's arms around him. It had been one of the best holidays he could remember having in a very long time.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm posting a Christmas chapter in May. Though, in my defense, I had it planned out months ago.

Nico, Annabeth, Percy, and Percy's parents met the Doctor at the beach on Christmas Eve at noon. He and Donna would take them to Sarah Jane's for Christmas before coming back to New York for New Years.

When they got to Sarah Jane's house, Luke let them in. The adults went into the other room to catch up while Percy and Nico helped Sky finish decorating and Luke took Annabeth upstairs to show her the latest alien tech they'd gotten ahold of.

"So, I'm not sure you'll like your present." Nico said nervously. "I've never bought anything for a boyfriend, or friends at all for that matter. Just family."

"Hey." Percy smiled at him. "I'm sure I'll love it. It's from you, which means it will be the best gift ever given. No matter what it is."

Nico help but laugh. "Do you realize how cheesy that sounded?"

Percy kissed him. "It made you laugh, so I call it a win."

Their next kiss was broken when Sky threw a wad of tinsel at them. "You're supposed to be helping me. Not being so couple-like."

Percy smirked and threw some tinsel back at her. This began a twenty minute long tinsel fight between the three of them. Paul came into the room about halfway through and started reading on the couch. By the end of the fight the whole room, and the three of them, was covered in tinsel. Except Paul, who had somehow managed to escape with only three strands of the stuff on his shoulder. Annabeth and Luke came back into the room while the three teens were laughing their heads off.

"How did you manage to cover everything except Paul?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

"Honestly? No freaking clue." Percy said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You know," Luke mused. "It probably wouldn't be too hard to figure out the probability."

Annabeth thought for a moment before nodding. "What's the area of this room?" Luke grabbed a notebook and they started running through calculations.

Percy leaned over to only Nico and Sky could hear him. "What have we done?" They started laughing again.

Paul looked up from his book and smiled at the teens. He brushed the tinsel off his shoulder and went back to reading his book.

\--------------------line break---------------

Partway through cleaning up, Martha, Mickey, and Jack showed up. Jack eyed Percy before walking over to shake his hand.

"Hi. I'm Captain Jack Harkness. And who do I have to pleasure of meeting?"

Nico stepped in quickly. "Jack, this is my boyfriend, Percy."

"Nice to meet you." Percy smiled.

'Please, don't be so adorable Percy. Not with Jack here.' He didn't think Jack would try to steal Percy- or that Percy would go along with it if he did- but he was afraid that he might try to have a threesome or something. He didn't expect Jack to start laughing.

"Finally got him, Nico? Well, it's about time. Honestly, if I didn't hear about something like this soon, I was gonna come give you lessons on how to do it properly."

"What?" Nico's eyes went wide in horror.

Martha intervened before Jack could say anything else. "Hello. I'm Martha and this is my husband, Mickey. Nico's told us quite a bit about you, Percy."

"You know, I've been hearing that more than I thought I would lately." Percy said.

"Yeah well, I'm with Jack on this point. He seemed near obsessed with you for a while there. Glad you gave him a chance." Mickey chimed in.

"Me too. It's definitely one of the better decisions I've made." Percy kissed Nico's temple.

Nico blushed. "We should finish cleaning up."

"Why? I like this. It looks like Christmas just smashed in, you know?" Jack smirked.

"Right. Come on, Percy." He dragged him to the other side of the room.

\-----------------line break-------------

After dinner, everyone split up and went to bed. Sarah Jane didn't want to risk the Doctor running off in the TARDIS during the night, so he would be sharing Luke's room. Annabeth and Donna were rooming with Sky and everyone else- except Sarah Jane, of course- would sleep in the TARDIS.

After Thanksgiving, Nico and Percy realized that their nightmares were less vivid and much easier to handle when they slept in each others arms. As a result, they did so at every possible opportunity and tonight was no exception.

Percy ended up waking from a nightmare at six-thirty Christmas morning. Nico woke with him and calmed him down as best he could. They cuddled until he stopped shaking, then got dressed and went back into Sarah Jane's house.

Luke was sipping tea on the couch while Sky and the Doctor examined the presents and took turns trying to guess what was in them. Percy jumped in when the Doctor licked one.

Nico dropped down next to Luke. "How long have you been up?"

"What time is it?" Luke answered.

"About seven fifteen."

"Around two hours then. The Doctor got up at about five. I don't think he *meant* to wake me up, but I'm a light sleeper. Sky is too. She got up when we passed her room."

"Have they been like that the whole time?" A smile touched Nico's lips when he looked over at the other three again. Percy was teaching the Doctor and Sky the "proper way" to figure out what a present was without actually opening it. The Doctor had even started taking notes!

"Yes they have." Luke took another sip of tea.

Everyone else trickled into the room over the next hour or so. Once they were all there they started unwrapping presents. Nico knew he'd get a couple of presents, but it still shocked him when everyone gave him something. Most of his presents were books or CDs. Sarah Jane got him a leather jacket to replace the old aviator jacket that had been torn to shreds during the last war. Luke got him combat boots to match. His last present was from Percy.

"Hope you like it." His boyfriend whispered.

Nico smiled at him and tore the wrapping paper off to reveal a box. Inside the box was a black leather wrist cuff with a silver seashell pressed into it.

Nico held his wrist out to Percy. "Put it on for me?"

He visibly relaxed and did as he was told. Nico couldn't help but grin when he noticed the silver skull charm hanging around Percy's neck. 'I guess he did like my present.'

The Doctor pulled him aside a little later. "I didn't get you or Percy a present."

"It's fine." Nico assured him. "I'm just glad you came and stayed the whole day, and I'm sure Percy didn't expect anything from you."

"Well," He scratched the back of his neck. "I was thinking. I could, take you somewhere. There's this planet in the-"

Nico cut him off quickly. "I'd love to. I think Percy will too. We'll have to be back by New Years though."

"Shouldn't be a problem. We can go after dropping everyone else off."

He grinned. "Sounds like a plan. I'll go let Percy know." The Doctor nodded and Nico went to find his boyfriend.

\-------------------------line break----------------

They stayed at Sarah Jane's until the twenty-seventh then headed back to New York. The others left while Nico, Percy, Donna, and the Doctor got the TARDIS ready for takeoff.

"So, where are we going?" Percy asked. He was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"A planet called Sloria. It's brilliant. Very peaceful, you'll love it." The Doctor grinned.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Nothing's peaceful with you around, spaceman."

The Doctor pouted. Percy wrapped his arms around Nico's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. Nico relaxed in his arms, smiling. "Let's go check this place out. I can't wait."

Nico turned to kiss Percy's cheek. "Don't worry. It'll definitely be worth it."


	12. Chapter Twelve

"Are we gonna have to dress up again?" Nico frowned. They had just arrived on Sloria and Nico wanted at least some idea of what to expect.

"No." The Doctor told him. "You'll want to lose the jackets though. It's late spring, early summer here."

Percy was looking at them in confusion. "Dress up?"

"Some of the planets and time periods we go to dress differently. To blend in, we have to dress like them." Donna explained.

"Oh."

Nico dropped his new jacket on the chair next to the console and motioned for Percy to do the same. Percy was practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"So, how does this work?" Percy asked. He grinned suddenly. "Do we make up codenames? Backstories? What should we do if-"

"Woah." The Doctor stopped him. "We're travelers, not spies. Just, stick with Nico. He's traveled with me enough to know what to do."

"Okay." Percy interlaced his fingers with Nico's and leaned over to peck him on the cheek. "I'm excited."

Nico smirked at him and couldn't resist being a little sarcastic. "Really? I had no idea, you've hidden it so well."

Donna laughed as they walked out.

They were in a market square. Stalls lined the road and vendors called out to potential customers. The Doctor muttered a quick "stay here," and walked off. Nico bit his lip to keep from laughing at the look on Percy's face.

"We're really on another planet." He was whispering. "This is so awesome! Nico, look at all of this. It's not Earth. That guy has purple skin!"

"Well don't stare." Donna chided. "That's rude."

"Sorry." He said quickly.

Nico actually did laugh at that. "You are way too adorable."

The Doctor came back and handed a wad of this planet's currency to each of them. "Okay, let's meet back here in, oh, three hours. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Nico agreed.

"Brilliant." He grinned. "Now, you two stay together and try to keep out of trouble."

"Don't be hypocritical, Doctor." Donna snorted. She crossed her arms. "You're the master of getting into trouble."

He sighed. "I'd disagree with you if it wasn't absolutely true. Off we go then."

(Percy POV)

Percy walked through the marketplace with his fingers interlaced with Nico's. They let go while looking at one of the stalls. Percy was trying to figure out what this weird orb-thing was for when Nico mumbled something he didn't catch and walked off. Percy set the thing down, sure that Leo would have known what it was.

He looked around for his boyfriend. "Nico? Where'd you go?" He was nowhere in sight, so Percy started looking for him.

He'd been looking for ten minutes or so when he ran into a boy, knocking him to the ground.

"I'm so sorry." He apologized and helped him to his feet. "I totally wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The boy assured him. He was about Nico's height with pale purple skin and midnight blue hair. His eyes were yellow and he had feminine features. All in all he was kind of, pretty. "I am Prince Coranth. And you would be?"

Great. It was just his luck that he'd run over a prince. "My name's Percy. Sorry, again, for running into you."

The prince looked him over, which made Percy a little uncomfortable, and smiled. "Well, you could always make it up to me. Come share a meal with me and we'll call it even."

"Oh, um, I'm kind of looking for someone."

"You can look for them later." He insisted.

Percy got the feeling he didn't have much choice here. Besides, he was royalty, if Percy refused he could probably throw him in the dungeon or something. He reluctantly agreed and followed Prince Coranth up the street.

(Nico POV)

Nico left Percy at the stall, muttering, "Be right back," before slipping away. One of the stalls farther down the street was selling sea shell pairs that let you talk to whoever had the matching shell. Kind of like walkie talkies without a limit on the range. Since they didn't use electricity Nico hoped they wouldn't attract monsters like cell phones did. He bought a pair for himself and Percy. They were a dark blue, so he hoped Percy liked them. He also bought a snack for the two of them to share on his way back to where he'd left Percy.

Of course, Percy wasn't there when he got back. He caught the vendor's attention. "Excuse me. Did you happen to see which way my friend went?"

"Black hair, green eyes, with the tan skin?" She clarified.

"That's the one." He nodded. She pointed. "Thank you."

\-------------------line break-------------

Nico spent the remainder of the three hours the Doctor gave them searching for Percy.

"Nico, there you are!" The Doctor's grin dropped when he noticed that Nico was alone.

"Where's Percy?" Donna asked.

"I wish I knew." Nico said miserably.

Donna scowled. "How can you not know? You were together the whole time weren't you?" He shook his head. "What happened?"

He told them holding up the shells as though he needed proof.

They got in the TARDIS and the Doctor used it to track him down. "What is he doing in the palace?"

Nico sighed. "Knowing Percy, getting into trouble."

(Percy POV)

Percy had no idea how he ended up in this situation. One minute he was accepting an invitation to see the palace, the next a bunch of servants were dressing him for a wedding. His wedding to be precise. It took them the better part of an hour to get him ready. Percy's heart sank when he realized he missed the meeting time. Nico was going to be furious with him. What if he thought Percy was doing this on purpose to get away from him?

"Hurry my lord. We cannot keep the prince waiting." One of the servants said.

"Hold up. This is all just a mistake, I didn't agree to get married." He protested as they started to drag him out of the room.

"Oh yes you did. You agreed to come to the palace."

"To see it, not to marry the prince and live here!"

Another servant laughed. "The only people who can see the inside of the palace are those who work here and members of the royal family. Everyone knows that. You said you wanted to see the palace and Prince Coranth wants you to be his consort."

"I'm new here!" Percy hissed. And then they were at the alter. He swallowed. The servants walked out of the room and music started playing. There were a lot of extremely high and low notes to it and it quickly grated on Percy's nerves. He grit his teeth and silently prayed that one of the others would find him soon.

Prince Coranth grinned at him as the ceremony began. The priest had just gotten to the vows when they were interrupted.

Donna ran into the room. "Fire! Fire in the entrance hall!" Thankfully, no one noticed that she wasn't supposed to be there. As everyone panicked she locked eyes with Percy and mouthed, "That way." Discreetly pointing back the way he'd come.

He slipped out and started running down the hall. He thought he'd see the TARDIS standing in a corner or something. Someone grabbed his wrist as he was searching and yanked him into the shadows. The next thing he knew he was falling into the TARDIS control room and onto his boyfriend.

"Nico!" Their faces were inches apart. He glanced over his shoulder, still not getting up, and saw that the door was still closed. "Did you shadow travel to get me?"

"Yeah. Donna and the Doctor will be here soon so don't worry about them." He was blushing. "Would you mind letting me get up now?"

Percy blinked. Right. He was still on top of Nico. He blushed at the dirty thoughts flashing though his head and scrambled off. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled a little. "You know if you didn't want to be with me you could've said instead of running off and getting married."

The fears he had when they were dragging him to the alter came to the forefront of his mind. For a minute he didn't consider that Nico had been joking. He grabbed the other boy's shoulders and kissed him deeply. "Never doubt that I want to be with you."

Nico's smile widened. "You realize I was just joking, right?"

"Well, can you not joke about that? I love you and I don't know, I guess it kind of hurts to think that you might not think that I do. Even if it's just a joke."

"You what?" His smile dropped

"I don't like it when you joke about that. It's just not realistic."

He rolled his eyes. "After that."

Percy smiled a bit and moved one hand from Nico's shoulder to his cheek. "I love you."

"You love me?" He whispered.

"Yeah." He put both arms around Nico's waist. He really didn't want to stop touching him. Ever. "Is it really that surprising?"

"I guess not. We've just never said it out loud before." Nico's smile was back. He buried his face in Percy's neck and said something.

"Sorry? I didn't catch that."

"I love you too."

Percy grabbed his chin gently and tilted his head up so he could kiss him again. Nico melted against him and he deepened the kiss. They only jumped apart when someone cleared their throat. The Doctor and Donna stood in the doorway looking amused.

"Are we interrupting?" Donna asked.

The boys blushed.

"The Doctor smirked." Right then, back to New York. "


	13. Chapter Thirteen

The last Time Lord, the Oncoming Storm, a man feared by monsters, didn't know how the subway worked. Nico bit his lip to keep from laughing as he watched the Doctor try to figure out how to get through a turnstile. Donna rolled her eyes and helped him.

"Which side?" She asked Percy.

"This one." He said. "The train won't get here for another couple minutes though."

Nico slipped under Percy's arm and cuddled against his side as they waited for the train. It didn't take long and they reached the apartment within ten minutes.

"Mom? We're back!" Percy called once they were inside.

"Percy?" Sally walked into the room and threw her arms around her son. She kissed his cheek and let go. "Did you have fun? You didn't get into too much trouble I hope."

"Of course not, Mom. We're all fine and yes, it was fun." He laughed.

She smiled, hugged Nico, and greeted Donna and the Doctor warmly. "Well? Tell me everything." She prompted.

"Um, where is everyone else?" The Doctor asked.

"Paul and Annabeth are showing them around the city."

"Why didn't you go along with them?" Donna frowned.

"I had to work." She shrugged. "Actually, I got home about five minutes before you did."

Nico cleared his throat, shifting his weight nervously. "Uh, Mrs. Blofis?"

"Call me Sally dear. What is it?"

He glanced at Percy who smiled at him. "Would you mind- I mean is there a way I could IM my sister? I haven't talked to her in a while."

"Sure, sweetie. There should be a prism somewhere you can use. Percy?"

"There's one in my room." He kissed Nico's temple. "You remember where that is, right?"

"And why should he remember where your bedroom is?" Donna scowled.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. Nico rolled his eyes. "It helps both of us if we sleep in the same room. Don't worry Donna, my virtue is still intact."

"It better be." She crossed her arms.

Nico snorted and went to Percy's room. Sure enough a prism sat on the dresser. He hung it in the window and called Hazel.

"Nico! I'm so glad you called. How's your holiday been?" Hazel was grinning.

"It's been really good. Sorry we haven't talked in a while. How's Frank? He's been treating you right hasn't he? Do I need to come talk to him?"

She laughed. "No, big brother. Frank is wonderful. Besides, you wouldn't have to come all the way over here if he wasn't, I can take care of myself."

He smiled. "I know you can. I just thought I could save you the trouble."

"How's Percy? Still a perfect gentleman? Cause if you want I could come over and save you the trouble."

Now it was his turn to laugh. "That's okay. I actually," Nico blushed and lowered his voice. "I'm in love with him, Hazel."

"How did you know?"

"Know what?" He frowned.

"That you loved Percy. How could you tell? Like, it's easy to see from the outside that you love each other, but how did *you* know?"

"Don't you love Frank?"

She sighed. "I think I do. But, I'm not sure. I like him, and I can imagine a future with him, but I don't know if it's love. Can you just tell me a little about what it's like with you, so I have something to go off?"

"I can try." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I really enjoy spending time with him. We don't agree on everything, we've already had our first fight, but being around him makes me feel better, happier. I remember talking to Annabeth about him. She mentioned a couple things Percy did or said which annoyed her, they weren't big things, but still. I kind of found that stuff, endearing I guess. Like, he can do annoying stuff sometimes, but he's still, perfect, you know? He just- he makes me happy. I don't really know how else to explain it."

Hazel was frowning thoughtfully.

"Did that help at all?" Nico asked.

"Yeah. Nico, I think I'm in love with Frank."

"Yeah?"

She nodded.

"Nico?" Percy stepped into the room. The others are back. We're ordering pizza, want anything particular? "

"No. I'm good with anything really."

"Okay. Hi Hazel."

"Hi Percy. Be nice to my brother, okay."

He smiled. "You got it." He kissed Nico and left.

Nico turned back to his sister. "I should probably go soon."

"Okay." She sighed. "Swing by New Rome this week so I can give you your present."

"Alright. Love you, Haze. Bye."

"Love you too, Nico. See ya." He broke the connection and left the room.

Percy pinned him against the wall just outside his door. Before Nico could ask why, Percy was kissing him. When Nico pulled back Percy's lips attached to his neck instead.

"What brought this on?" He managed.

Percy spoke between kisses. "I heard what you said. About how you knew you loved me. I didn't mean to hear, but I'm kinda glad I did."

"You already knew I love you." Nico smiled. "Why the reaction?"

He pulled away so he could look Nico in the eyes. "It just hits me sometimes. How much I love you. Seriously, how stupid was l? If I'd noticed sooner-"

Nico kissed him again so he'd shut up. "You're not stupid. Now come on. If Donna saw us like this she'd smack you. I don't even wanna think about what Sarah Jane would do."

Percy grinned and kissed him one more time before they rejoined the others.

\--------------------line break-----------------

At eleven thirty on New Years Eve everyone went up to the roof. It was the best place to watch the fireworks. The group split into couples as midnight drew closer for the midnight kiss tradition. Naturally, Mickey and Martha were together as were Sally and Paul. Donna had convinced Jack to be her partner for the night and Annabeth and Luke looked very nervous standing together. Nico smirked when he saw them. Luke had told him that it would be their first kiss with each other. Nico have him a thumbs up and a smile when Luke caught his eye.

Percy and Nico stood at the edge of the roof, looking out over the city. Nico had cuddled against Percy's side again with Percy's arm around his shoulders.

"Almost the new year." Percy said quietly.

"Yeah. Think things will be a little calmer this year?" Nico asked.

"I hope so." Percy kissed the top of his head. "I think I can handle it if it doesn't though. As long as you're with me anyway."

He smiled. "You're being cheesy again."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No. It's still nice to hear." Nico looked up at him. Percy smiled and kissed him gently.

"Boys?" Paul called. "Fifteen seconds to midnight."

The two joined the group as the countdown started. The clock struck midnight and they kissed as fireworks went off.

Nico was grinning as they pulled away. As he stared into his boyfriend's eyes he thought, 'This year of definitely going to be better than the last one.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue left guys!


	14. Epilogue

A year and a half later was Percy's high school graduation. Nico sat with Sally and Paul in the audience. When Percy's name was called Nico applauded just as enthusiastically as they did. Percy had worked really hard to be able to graduate with the rest of his class. Online classes, packets, plus he hadn't been able to miss a single day of school to walk. Nico kissed him deeply after it was over.

"I'm so proud of you." He grinned.

Percy practically glowed in response.

\----------------line break-----------------

"Are you sure you two want to be the test subjects?" The Doctor frowned.

"Absolutely." Nico answered. "If it works on two children of the Big Three it'll work on less powerful demigods too."

"We'll give the idea to Leo if it works. He can develop more so you don't have to supply us with a couple thousand of these." Percy smiled.

The Doctor handed them three biodamper rings. "There's am extra for your friend to go off of it it works. Good luck boys."

"Thanks." Nico smiled.

\----------------line break-----------------------

Nico and Percy were walking on the beach. Percy looked more nervous than Nico had ever seen him when he was this close to the ocean.

"Nico, we've been dating for five years now right?" Percy said.

"Yeah." Nico squeezed his hand. "Pretty incredible his fast it seems."

Percy swallowed. "Are you happy with me?"

His eyes widened. "Of course I am! Have I given you any reason to think I'm not?" A thought hit him and he turned to look at Percy. "Are you happy?"

"Yes! Yes, sorry that wasn't the best way to start." He took a deep breath. "I love you. Like I can't even believe how much."

"I love you too." Nico smiled a little. "Percy, what's going on?"

Percy kissed him gently. "I have something to ask you." He hesitated then dropped to one knee. He pulled a small box from his pocket. Inside was a silver ring with an emerald set into the metal. Black swirling designs wound around it. "Will you marry me?"

Nico stared at him in shock. "What?"

"I can't imagine my life without you, Nico. Honestly, I don't really want to. You've been my guardian angel even when I didn't know about it at the time or when I broke a promise to you. You had every right to hate me when we were younger and you still helped. I love you and, if you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you've make me. So, Nico di Angelo, will you marry me?"

Nico smiled. "Wow Perce, I mean, you've said some pretty cheesy things in the past, but that really topped it off. How long did it take you to come up with that speech?" He crossed his arms amusement shining in his eyes.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Will you just marry me already?"

"Yes." Nico laughed. He threw his arms around him. "Yes, I love you yes."

Percy laughed in relief. "You scared me for a second there."

"Sorry. I really did like the speech. I just had to tease you a little bit."

"Future reference, teasing someone proposing to you isn't a good idea."

They kissed again and Percy slipped the ring on Nico's finger.

\------------------line break-------------

The wedding was at the end of June. Since Jason was the pontifex maximus he officiated. It was easily the happiest day of Nico's life.

The Doctor actually showed up for the reception as did a few of the gods, including their fathers. Luke and Annabeth were planning a wedding of their own and Rani and Clyde had gotten hitched after Rani got her Masters.

"You will still come visit, won't you?" Sarah Jane asked as they danced.

"Of course we will." Nico kissed her cheek. "You're my mom. Hey, has Sky picked a college yet?"

She smiled. "Not yet. She's been touring campus's trying to decide which one she likes best."

"Good plan." 

The song ended and Percy walked over. "May I cut in?"

"Go ahead." Sarah Jane said. "I was just thinking I'd like something to eat."

"Thanks." Percy's arms wrapped around Nico's waist as she walked away. "So, what do you think? Percy di Angelo or Nico Jackson?"

"I have to say, I really like the sound of Nico Jackson."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Me too." Percy grinned and they kissed. "You're my husband."

"Yes. And you're mine." Nico tightened his arms around his neck. "I really like saying that."

"I love you, my husband." Percy rested his forehead on Nico's.

"I love you too."

\------------------line break---------------

Nico and Percy got an apartment in New York. Percy worked as a marine biologist and Nico as a doctor. He called Martha for study help all through medical school.

The Doctor showed up every once and a while and ran off with them for a while. They saw two new faces and three new companions with him.

Leo figured out how to produce biodampers to shield demigods from monsters.

Percy and Nico lived quite happily together. They didn't have to fight in any other wars and they had each other. They adopted a daughter of Hermes from the orphanage in New Rome who they doted on.

One night years later, they lay in bed together. "Are you happy, my angel?" Percy asked.

"More than I thought possible." Nico kissed him and rested his head on Percy's chest. He smiled. Yes, life was far better than he'd ever thought he'd get all those years ago.


End file.
